Greater efficiencies, and a green environment

Sofrimar Kilmore Quay realised €20,000 in annual savings, while reducing its environmental impact, as part of the Green Seafood Business Programme.

Project aim

Help Sofrimar Kilmore Quay reduce its daily use of water and chemicals, while maintaining production quotas.

Our Methods

Our first step was to install an online monitoring system that allowed Sofrimar to quantify its water use, and identify its typical usage behaviour.

Our analysis showed that large quantities of water were being used each night for site cleaning. This was exacerbated by the use of high pressure hoses, which typically used 100L/minute.

Water Consumption during a sample first rinse phase (November 10, 2011). The highest peak was seen at seen at 10:18pm (1m3 = 1000 litres)

Improvements

Working with EcoLab we reduced water pressure from 100L/minute to 40L/minute using a centralised high-pressure system and low volume nozzles. Thanks to positive feedback from staff this was further reduced to between 20 and 30L/minute.

By switching to low volume nozzles we also reduced misting throughout the site which improved the efficiency of the final rise.

We were able to reduce Sofrimar’s chemical use by centralising the dosing process. This saved the company both time and money.

‌Seeing the benefits

Fewer chemicals, better production, and a greener environment.

Sofrimar reduced its water consumption by 30% per tonne of product processed for the main shellfish products.

Investment: €34,000

Annual Savings: €30,000

Payback: Fewer than two years

Sofrimar were one of seven finalists shortlisted for the ‘Green Seafood Business Award’ sponsored by BIM at the Green Awards 2015.